Restart
by sleepykoala
Summary: After the carnival life has returned to normal for the former Hime. However, the actions of a few individuals who seek to disrupt the calm and achieve their own golden age could destroy everything the Hime achieved.
1. Prologue

AN: I own nothing. Research indicates that Sunrise owns Mai Hime. This is just an idea in my head that came out in story form.

**PROLOGUE**

_6 months ago_

At 2:30 a.m. on the 30th floor of the Kasumigaseki Building, President Hiroyuki Yoshino observed the beautifully lit expanse of Tokyo below. Yet such a striking sight could not hold Hiroyuki's attention, for the troubles confronting him would not wait. As the newly appointed President of Searrs, Hiroyuki was faced with a dilemma. Since the end of the recent carnival and the demise of the Obsidian Lord it seemed to Hiroyuki as if Searrs no longer had a purpose.

Since childhood Hiroyuki had known the secret of the Hime and the great role Searrs would play in the next carnival. The Yoshino family had a long and proud history of involvement in Searrs and its previous incarnations. Indeed, it was only within the last century that Searrs officially became the "Searrs" currently known. Given this familial history, Hiroyuki had been raised with a purpose. He was to help bring Searrs to victory in the carnival and thus to enter the golden age of Searrs rule. Shortly after completing his education Hiroyuki was given a job within Searrs. Due to his unrelenting loyalty and perseverance, Hiroyuki had been rewarded with promotion after promotion. As of last week he had achieve his greatest goal, but also his worst defeat.

The untimely death of the former President was a shock to the Board and all involved. In an act of urgency the Board appointed him interim President with instructions to repair any and all damage. In light of this directive Hiroyuki had sent Searrs head of Public Relations, John Smith, to make amends with the Obsidian Lord. With an active presence in Fuuka, the defeat of the Obsidian Lord and the end of the carnival had not escaped Searrs attention.

Thus, Hiroyuki was faced with the situation at hand. Searrs was an umbrella corporation wherein each subsidiary was fully capable of functioning on its own. The only real link between all the facets of the company was the centuries old goal to win the carnival and bring about the reign of Searrs. With this prospect now out of the picture, Hiroyuki was at a loss as to his next move. As the situation stood, there appeared no need for Searrs to continue to exist. Hiroyuki was dreading having to tell this to the Board.

Hiroyuki's thoughts were suddenly broken by the slow creak of his office door. Upon turning his head Hiroyuki ascertained that it was Searrs head of Public Relations, John Smith. After casually nodding towards the intruder, the President returned his gaze to the Tokyo night sky.

"Smith, I'm surprised you're back so early from your trip. Tell me, what brings you to Tokyo when you were supposed to remain in Fuuka?"

"Everything is quiet in Fuuka and business is settled there," Smith replied.

"Whether that is true or not, you were told to remain in Fuuka until instructed otherwise. I believe the board themselves ordered as much."

Suddenly Hiroyuki heard a soft click and felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he noticed that his shirt was starting to grow red and damp. _I've been shot_. Hiroyuki fell to his knees, the lights of the city below reflected in his eyes.

"The board has had a change of heart," Smith finally replied. Placing the gun in his suit pocket, Smith slowly approached Hiroyuki's slumped body. Smith delivered one quick kick and Hiroyuki's body collapsed to the floor. "You're not right for the position Hiroyuki. The Board is aware of your lack of vision for the future of this company. The death of the Obsidian Lord is not the end. To think as much is too narrow minded for an organization such as Searrs."

As Hiroyuki lay dying on the floor of his office he felt Smith's stare and saw his satisfied smirk. Smith calmly watched as Searrs former President's life slipped away. After he was satisfied that his job was complete he began his real purpose for returning from Fuuka so soon. Pulling out his cell phone, Smith pressed the re-dial button and placed the phone to his ears. "It's done."

The other end of the phone responded "Good. I will proceed with the second stage."

Smith hung up the line and proceeded to pick up the briefcase he had left at the door to Hiroyuki's former office. Bringing the case to the desk Smith pulled out twelve seemingly identical manila envelopes. However, the contents of each had been carefully chosen and were individually unique.

"It has begun."


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

_Present Day_

The shrill sound of an insistent alarm woke Natsuki Kuga from her sleep. Like most people in the morning, she hit the snooze button.

Overall, things had been quiet for Natsuki since the end of the carnival. The only dark cloud on her days was that she had to attend summer classes, the result of her poor attendance record the previous year. Now as a second year she was finding the calm aftermath of the carnival oddly disconcerting. Natsuki had spent virtually her entire young life tracking down and trying to stop First District. With the departure of Fuuka's Headmistress Mashiro Kazahana and her ubiquitous counterpart Nagi Homura, it seemed that First District had disappeared. So, Natsuki continued with her days and tried to put together the normal life that she'd never really had.

Due to the "generosity" of the recently departed Headmistress Natsuki's scholarship at Fuuka remained intact. Indeed, virtually all of the other former Hime had maintained their scholarships and were still completing their studies at Fuuka. Only the one Hime that had graduated remained a mystery.

While Natsuki and Shizuru had kept in contact, relations were strained. Shizuru had kept her distance after Graduation and Natsuki had allowed it. They went from seeing each other every day to only meeting for a once a month catch-up. It seemed Natsuki had lost her first and only friend. In exchange she had apparently gained a multitude of other friends. This was mainly the fault of one Mai Tokiha, who was insistent that Natsuki adapt to a normal and quiet life.

Natsuki was uncertain why normal encompassed having to deal with the people that had become her friends. While they were all well intentioned, they also all seemed a little off. However the worst part of this new "friendship" thing for Natsuki was having to participate in the weekly karaoke sessions Mai would hold and the ensuing outfits she would be forced into wearing. Sometimes Natsuki just missed her purposeful former life and the quiet friendship she had with the former kaichou.

After the second snooze expired Natsuki got up and started preparing for her day. She went through her usual routine of eating a breakfast loaded with mayo, showering, and then watching the morning news reports. An insistent knocking on her door was the only thing keeping her morning from being perfect.

"Natsuki! Are you there?" the intruder yelled from the other end of the door.

"Who is it?" Natsuki responded. She was well aware that it was Mai, probably accompanied by Mikoto, but she felt like hassling Mai anyways for disturbing her morning ritual.

"We've got to get to school!"

Natsuki rolled her eyes in response. The effect was obviously lost on Mai as she was located on the other side of the door. Natsuki nevertheless felt justified. Mai hadn't left her alone after finding out she had to take summer classes, telling Natsuki that it was her duty as a friend to ensure that Natsuki graduated on time. That apparently involved coming to her apartment every morning and insisting that Natsuki walk to class with her and Mikoto. Initially Natsuki was touched by her concern but after about one week she was just plain annoyed.

"Is Natsuki Coming?" Mikoto piped up.

"I'm coming, calm down." Natsuki proceeded to grab her bag and open her door to find Mai waiting with an anxious Mikoto at her side.

They proceeded on their morning walk to campus. Natsuki had been leaving her Ducati behind these days due to an incident in which Mikoto had decided that driving a motorcycle would be fun. She was still reeling from the cost of the repairs. Eventually Takumi and Akira joined them. The walk was quiet, the content nature of those around her made Natsuki uncomfortable. It always seemed as if there was something missing in these calm moments. She was supposed to feel happy and content, but a part of her was restless. At the end of the carnival Natsuki had started to open herself up to friendship and those that seemed to care about her. Considering her previous "loner" nature she had been making great strides in this area. Yet, something was unsettling Natsuki.

The closer they got to school, the more people joined in their group. After Takumi and Arika the group was joined by Shiho who was latched onto an awkward looking Tate. Next they were joined by Aoi and Chie who proceeded to inform them of the latest gossip on the First Year students. Apparently two of the new first years had already developed quite the reputation at Fuuka as promising new students. Natsuki wasn't paying enough attention to get their full names, but did remember that one was named Nina. She had met a Nina a few weeks ago when she was visiting Yukino in the student council room. Natsuki was remembering more about this new girl until her thoughts were interrupted.

"Mai, what's a vaccination?" Mikoto chirped.

"What? Oh, it's a shot to prevent you from getting sick" Mai casually responded.

"A shot. Like a gun shot?"

"Not exactly Mikoto."

It became suddenly apparent to Natsuki that there were signs strewn across the campus promising vaccinations for the upcoming cold and flu season. What truly struck Natsuki was the large "MANDATORY" part written at the top of the flyers. Apparently surviving the hime festival wasn't enough for this school. She needed a cold and flu shot to save herself. Natsuki sighed as she realized it was going to be a long day.

* * *

The rest of the day flew by quickly and Natsuki was grateful for it. The only slump in her day was the loud speaker for the school intercom system announcing that all second year students were required to proceed to the auditorium at 2:00 p.m. to receive their cold and flu vaccination. The school was dividing the students by class as to their priority for the mandatory vaccinations. The first years had gone at 1:00 p.m. and the third years were scheduled to go at 3:00 p.m. Natsuki wasn't exceptionally excited, but the thought of getting out of her English class for an extra half an hour was appealing enough to earn her compliance. On her way out of her classroom Natsuki ran into Nao.

"Oi Kuga."

"What is it Nao?"

"Just giving a friendly hello. What's your problem?"

"Nothing." Natsuki wasn't about to share her unknown discomfort at her quiet life with Nao Yuuki. While Natsuki had slightly mellowed after the carnival, Nao remained her usual smartass self. However this was just Natsuki's opinion.

To the unattuned person it would appear that Nao had not changed at all since the end of the carnival. Yet this couldn't have been further from the truth. After the end of the carnival Nao was reunited with her mother who had awoken from her coma. The calm and reassuring presence of her mother's return to her life had changed Nao. While she still engaged in certain extracurricular activities in town, namely robbing men that she met online and tricked into meeting her, she had lost the bitterness that had consumed her during the carnival. Overall she was a happier person. Still, Natsuki remained somewhat oblivious to this change. It might have had something to do with Nao's constant wisecracks at Natsuki's expense during the weekly karaoke nights.

Nao noticed the raven haired girls discomfort and decided that a good quip was in order. She saw the vaccination flyer and decided on her tactic. "What, you just sulking because you're scared of getting your shot? Do you have a secret fear of needles Kuga?"

"I DO NOT." Natsuki rebuffed. If one was solely judging by Natsuki's overreaction to Nao's taunt, they would have realized that Natsuki's lie was blatant. However, the subject matter of fear of needles didn't cover the true reason for Natsuki's discomfort. Natsuki's hatred of the medical field and all things related, including vaccinations, stemmed from her last hospital stay. On top of that, the memory of her mother's death, time in the hospital, and the recent discovery that it resulted from her mother's betrayal was not something she wished to revisit. Natsuki wasn't going to admit to her feelings on said matter. _Best to just get this over with._

With that in mind she immediately proceeded into the auditorium and marched to the front of the line. After a slight altercation at the check-in station, Natsuki was sent to the closest vaccination station.

"Name" the nurse said. She didn't ever glance up at Natsuki.

"Kuga, Natsuki." Natsuki was completely pissed at the nurse for not even looking at her. _Such disrespect_.Yet, she had Nao looking over she should so she couldn't start a fight. If she was to have an altercation with the nurse she knew that Nao would say it was because she was afraid of _a little needle_.

"Ah. Hold on one moment." Without so much as a glance at Natsuki the nurse turned around and grabbed something from her makeshift desk. Natsuki quickly glanced over her shoulder and saw Nao getting her own shot and simultaneously making faces at her, daring her to chicken out. The next thing Natsuki knew, she was stuck with a needle in her arm.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry, it's just procedure. I told you I was about to vaccinate you but you apparently weren't listening. Do you often just ignore those around you?"

The obvious insolence of the nurse infuriated Natsuki. _Who is she to just prick me with a needle and then reprimand me. Also, who just gives someone a vaccination when their back is turned?_ Natsuki figured these nurses must be outsourced from the local hospital as Youko would never treat her this way.

After mentally working herself into a highly displeased state, Natsuki stood and marched out of the auditorium. When she had just made it outside of the room she stopped due to a sharp pain in her arm, in the same place she had just received her vaccination. This was followed by a growing dizziness in the back of her head. Then everything went black.

* * *

Natsuki slowly opened her eyes to a white ceiling above her and someone shaking her left arm. She turned her head to the left and was confronted with a smirking Nao.

"You really do have a fear of needles Kuga!" Nao said as she started laughing. Natsuki immediately glared and tried to sit up.

"Please stay down Natsuki and rest. You collapsed outside of the auditorium after receiving your flu shot," Youko said as she placed a hand on Natsuki's shoulder and pushed her back down onto the bed. "Did you wait a few minutes after your shot to recuperate like the nurse said?"

"Uh…" Natsuki's inarticulate reply was suddenly interrupted by a loud thud as Mai Tohika burst through the door to the student infirmary. Mikoto followed closely behind.

"Natsuki! Are you alright? I heard you collapsed!" Mai quickly moved to Nastuki's right side and scanned Natsuki's current state to determine if she was injured in any way.

"Oh she did alright. Apparently Kuga has a fear of needles. She toppled over like a tree!" Nao responded for Natsuki as she simultaneously mimicked said toppling with hand movements. This only served to made her laugh harder. Now that Nao knew Natsuki was alright she was able to fully enjoy the image of the raven haired girl toppling over in the auditorium.

"Hey! I did not topple over! I just had a bad reaction to the shot. It happens all the time," Natsuki said the last part sheepishly. Clearly Nao wasn't going to let her live this down. Before she could deliver a further retort she was interrupted by the sudden cry of a new presence in the room.

"Nina! Are you alright? I heard you fainted in class earlier this afternoon." First year student Erstin Ho exclaimed as she burst into the room in a similar fashion as Mai had previously. Natsuki suddenly noticed on her left that another girl was lying in the next bed over.

"Erstin? Yeah I'm alright. I just got so tired in class that I fell asleep." Nina was embarrassed that she was showing obvious weakness in front of upperclassmen. Erstin quickly looked around, noticed that they were not alone, and gave an apologetic look for interrupting. Nao however could not resist this turn of events.

"You too Wang? I didn't know so many people were as scared as Kuga about a simple shot."

"I was not scared!" Natsuki and Nina shouted back at Nao simultaneously. The conversation carried on between the three like that for a while until Nao finally relented. Then Mai began chatting with Nina and Erstin about her first year at Fuuka, leaving out the parts regarding Himes and the carnival. Mikoto voiced her opinion once in a while and Nao continued to insert her little jibes into the conversation. For Natsuki it felt good to have her friends around despite their teasing. Yet, she still felt the same uneasiness and slight emptiness that she had been feeling since graduation and the end of the carnival.

Eventually Natsuki was released and allowed to head home. Mai and Mikoto accompanied her on the walk and wouldn't leave her alone until they were sure that she was okay. After multiple attempts to reassure Mai that she was indeed fine and just tired, Natsuki was able to send the girl away.

* * *

John Smith sat quietly in his office as he awaited the results of today's project launch. He had been reviewing the files of the twelve candidates and eagerly anticipated the outcome of his carefully chosen subjects. According to his sources, all of the girls had received the Searrs dosage today under the pretense of a mandatory cold and flu shot.

The incubation period for each candidate was uncertain. Preliminary tests had revealed that individuals reacted and developed differently to the drug. There didn't appear to be any consistency in the time period. The only thing that was certain was that, when presented with a life-threatening challenge, the subject's abilities would manifest. Therefore, it seemed that Smith was going to have to initiate some challenges for his new Hime.

* * *

_She was surrounded, that much was certain. Searrs agents were coming out of the woodwork and attacking. Despite having already shot many down, she wasn't able to fight them all off and was coming under constant fire. To complicate matters, Duran was in the midst of a battle with a rather large scorpion like child. _

_After letting off another round of shots from her ice pistols, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her side and noticed that a bullet from one of the Searrs agents to her left had nicked her right arm. Quickly dashing behind a large metallic canister, she checked out the severity of her wound. Luckily it didn't appear deep or fatal. _

_This incident appeared to divert Duran's attention from his battle with the giant scorpion child. He fired one shot at the scorpion and then looked to his master to determine her state. She waved him off and yelled that she was fine. After determining that she was safe, he returned to his battle with the scorpion. However he was a little too late._

_Taking advantage of the distraction, the scorpion attacked Duran by shooting out its large stinger. Just as the stinger was about to make contact with Duran, multiple large snake heads appeared and slammed into the stinger, diverting its trajectory into the building's left wall. Several other snake heads then appeared protectively in front of Duran, making a hissing like sound at the scorpion._

_She had seen the entire scene and immediately recognized Kiyohime when the child had appeared to protect Duran. Quickly scanning the area, she attempted to determine the location of Kiyohime's master. After a few seconds of looking she noticed said master up on a platform near the factory's rafters. _

"_Shizuru!" she called out. One of Kiyohime's heads then raised itself to its master. Shizuru stepped on the head and was gently brought down to the ground and placed beside Natsuki. Shizuru gave the head a quick pet and then allowed it to rejoin the other heads in their protection of Duran._

"_Did Natsuki miss me?" Shizuru teased. _

"_This is not the time for teasing Shizuru!" Yet, Shizuru's comment had brought a smile to her face._

"_How unfair Natsuki is." Shizuru then appeared to wait a moment and contemplate her next words. "What do you wish to do?" _

_Natsuki observed their situation, trying to determine the best way to defeat the scorpion, stop the Searrs agents, and escape alive. Meanwhile Kiyohime was engaged in a battle with the scorpion and Duran was shooting at the Searrs agents, giving her time to contemplate their next move. Moments later Natsuki came to her decision and whispered it to Shizuru. Shizuru nodded in agreement._

"_Duran! Load Silver Cartridge!" Duran then loaded the cartridge and turned to aim it at the monstrous scorpion that was trapped in a battle with Kiyohime's multiple heads. Noticing that Duran was now prepared, Kiyohime quickly darted out of the way as Duran's attack shot forward and impacted with the large scorpion. _

_As the scorpion collapsed to the ground Natsuki heard a resounding thump to her right. What she saw when she turned to look left her stunned. There was Shizuru, on her knees and hunched forward, clutching her chest and obviously in immense pain. Natsuki immediately shook off her stunned state and got to her feet, scrambling towards the brunette. When she reached her the brunette's eyes were dazed and full of pain._

"_Shizuru! What? How? I don't understand…" the raven haired girl cried out. She looked from Shizuru to the defeated scorpion and back as she noticed that Shizuru was slowly fading into green light at the same rate as the dying child. Natsuki grabbed hold of Shizuru, trying to stop her from disappearing into nothingness. _

"_Don't! You can't Shizuru! No!" Natsuki was desperate as she tried to prevent Shizuru from disappearing by clinging onto her vanishing form._

_Shizuru slowly raised her hand to Natsuki's face and wiped away the tears that had started to fall down the raven haired girls face. "Forgive me Natsuki" Shizuru whispered as she faded away._

"NO! SHIZURU!" Natsuki yelled as she shot up in bed. Opening her eyes, Natsuki shifted her body erratically, trying to orient herself. After a few moments Natsuki understood that she had just been dreaming and that the carnival had not restarted.

With a sigh of reassurance, she took in her surroundings. That was when the raven haired girl noticed small bits of debris were lying on top of her. Wondering why they looked oddly similar to the texture and color of her ceiling, she looked up. Upon doing so the raven haired girl was immediately presented with the night sky above her, visible through two newly made holes in her ceiling. That's when she realized that her hands were holding onto two familiar metal objects.

_Oh shit._ Natsuki realized that she had materialized her ice pistols during her dream and had blown a hole through her ceiling. _I'm not supposed to be able to materialize anything! The carnival is over. Isn't it…_

Natsuki quickly scrambled for her phone. She needed to talk to someone. She had to figure out what was going on. Retrieving her phone, she quickly scrolled through the address book and found the number she was looking for. She sent a quick message stating simply _"I need to see you. Meet me at the usual place."_ Natsuki then got out of bed and got ready for her meeting.

* * *

AN:

This is a forewarning that I liked certain personalities in Mai Otome more than their Hime counterparts. As a result, some of these characters will act more like their Otome personalities than their Hime ones. So be prepared because some people might be OOC. I also liked certain Mai Otome characters that weren't in Hime. So I'm going to bring them in as well.

I don't have a beta read my stories before updating, but I will re-read my chapters a few times before updating them so that I can get out a few more of the kinks.

Reviews welcome!


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The street was quiet as Shizuru Fujino made her way to her favorite local tea and coffee shop in Fuuka. It was customary for her to enter this establishment on a weekly basis. However this was a special occasion. These were the few hours Shizuru cherished most every month. Today was the day Shizuru would see Natsuki for their monthly "catch-up" talk.

As she walked in the brunette was greeted by members of the staff who knew her as a repeat client. She took her usual seat by the window and waited for her waiter to bring her customary tea order. Due to her frequenting of the establishment the employees had discovered that the brunette woman with the Kyoto accent always ordered their tea of the day. Tea would be important to the young woman today as she was experiencing a familiar yet unidentifiable discomfort.

Shizuru was restless. While she did not display any outward signs of discomfort or distress, if one had looked into their eyes they could have seen her worry. Something was telling her to be wary and on alert. This feeling had been bothering the Kyoto woman since late last night. Thus, it was essential that Shizuru come to this meeting and ascertain that her most important person was well before she delved deeper into understanding her uneasiness.

So she sat and she waited.

* * *

_The Previous Day_

"Shizuru!" shouted an energetic Tomoe Marguerite as she raced after the Kyoto woman. Tomoe had spotted Shizuru walking across the quad of Fuuka University's main campus. Upon seeing her classmate Tomoe felt the familiar and immediate need to be by her side.

"Tomoe?" Shizuru was surprised that the turquoise haired girl was on campus this early, but she wasn't all that shocked that the girl had found her. Tomoe had a habit of spotting Shizuru on campus almost every time she was at the school. Her knack for finding Shizuru was better than the flock of fan girls that used to follow the brunette back in her days at Fuuka Academy. "What brings you here at this time of the morning? I don't believe we have class for another hour." It was eight in the morning and most students with later classes were not expected to arrive on campus until twenty minutes before their classes started.

"I wanted to catch you Shizuru. We have that project coming up and I thought we should probably plan some study datesso we can prepare properly." Tomoe always made sure to emphasize the date aspect of their study sessions. Just thinking about their upcoming study _date_ excited the girl and her hopeful and adoring eyes continued their unending gaze at the brunette.

It was no surprise to Shizuru that Tomoe Marguerite had a major crush on her. The turquoise haired girl practically worshipped Shizuru. She would take every opportunity to spend time with the brunette. Indeed, that was how they ended up on a class project together. Tomoe had approached Shizuru after class and asked if she would be her partner while simultaneously managing to give death glares to all the other students hoping to partner with the Kyoto woman on the assignment. Not wanting to be rude and knowing that Tomoe was one of the top students in the class, Shizuru had accepted.

"Ara. Tomoe is so excited to do her school work. No wonder she is one of the top students in our class." Shizuru responded as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind Tomoe's ear. Tomoe blushed profusely at the contact. As flattering as turquoise haired girls feelings for Shizuru were, the brunette would never be able to reciprocate them. Her heart was forever lost to a raven haired beauty. Yet, the brunette couldn't help by tease the poor girl.

"I'm not as good as you Shizuru." Tomoe shyly replied while shifting her gaze to the ground in embarrassment.

"Tomoe is so kind. In that case, why don't we figure out a time to meet and prepare for our project after class today? I have a few things I need to get done first and then I can coordinate our schedules."

Tomoe's eyes lit up at the prospect of finally having alone time outside of school with the Kyoto woman. She had adored her since the first instant she saw her sitting in their class. After that moment she had vowed to be with the charming and beautiful brunette. "Yes Shizuru! We can plan our date then."

With that Shizuru bid the girl goodbye and continued on her way.

"Bubuzuke! There you are…" Haruka bellowed to Shizuru across campus. She had spotted her talking to that Marguerite girl just a few moments ago. While Tomoe Marguerite was one of the top new students at the school, Haruka had a bad feeling about her. She just seemed like she could easily become a troublemaker and disrupt the discipline and order of the University. However, there were more pressing matters at hand, namely the presence of her new friend and rival Shizuru. Now was the perfect opportunity to see her again. "Come get your vacillation."

"I believe you mean vaccination Haruka."

"That's what I said!" Haruka huffed. "Now, as a member of the University Governing Board I order you to come here and receive it." After entering Fuuka University this past year, Haruka Suzushiro had immediately sought out a leadership position at the school. Despite being a first year student she had managed to gain a seat on the schools University Governing Board. After all, Haruka was a smart and talented young woman once you got past all the blustering. With this new position of power under her belt Haruka had started a campaign to clean up the school and instill order and justice throughout.

"Ara, I wouldn't want to upset such a prominent person." Shizuru replied as she waved Haruka off and entered the tent of the makeshift clinic the school had set up.

Despite their differences during the carnival, Haruka and Shizuru had become fairly close friends. Once Haruka understood everything that had gone on during that time she had slowly come to understand and forgive Shizuru. It was odd to think that the Bubuzuke had committed such atrocious actions. Once she knew about the Obsidian Lord and his control over the Hime she had accepted the circumstances as just that, circumstances.

When Haruka heard that the Kyoto woman would be returning to Fuuka to study for a semester she made it a point to become better friends with her. After all, Shizuru was still Haruka's rival. If Haruka wished to finally defeat her rival she would have to make contact with her again. In order to maintain their silent truce about the events of the carnival Haruka never mentioned the raven haired hime that Shizuru had lost her mind over. To Haruka, there was no honor in bringing the subject up.

Haruka therefore waited outside her makeshift headquarters at the vaccination clinic. There was an upcoming election at the school that Haruka was going to enter and she wanted Shizuru to enter as well. _In order to truly beat the bubuzuke I must defeat her fairly_.

Meanwhile, Shizuru had received her vaccination and proceeded out of the tent. She had planned on heading to her next class but was somewhat unsurprisingly confronted by Haruka.

"One more thing Bubuzuke," the board member called out "I'm sure you're aware that there's an election next week for president of the University Affairs Board. I challenge you for the position!"

Shizuru presented a stunned yet blank look at the statement. "Haruka, you know I would gladly give you that position."

"That's not the point bubuzuke!" Haruka was clearly frustrated by Shizuru's blatant denials of their rivalry. After a few moments she decided on a new tactic. _Maybe if I can just get her to the sign up room she will enter the race. _"Alright. How about we meet tomorrow at lunch outside the administration building. As a member of the Board it is my duty to discuss with you your recent lack of interest in our school and its welfare. Your disregard for the good you can do for your school is shameful."

Shizuru giggled in response. "Very well Haruka. We will discuss this tomorrow." Truth be told, Shizuru had become quite fond of Haruka over the past year or so. Growing distant from Natsuki had placed a strain on the brunette's social circle. While Natsuki was never the most social person at her best moments, she had been the highlight of Shizuru's day. Now that they were apart, Shizuru had found comfort and what she thought was true friendship with Haruka Suzushiro. She knew she should support and humor her newfound friend and 'rival'.

Initially it had been difficult to see and truly befriend the former head of the executive committee at Fuuka. Unlike her fans, of which Tomoe was the most persistent, being around Haruka always reminded the Kyoto woman of Natsuki. And whenever thoughts of the raven haired girl entered Shizuru's mind she was simultaneous reminded of her actions during the carnival. Haruka had been kind enough to never mention those days, but the memories persisted. As such, Shizuru thought her newfound friendship was both a blessing and a curse.

In reality Shizuru knew she had avoided Natsuki since graduation and the end of the carnival. Shizuru had initially believed Natsuki when, in that old church building on the night they both died, she forgave her. After graduation Shizuru had spent time reflecting on her actions during the carnival. Even with a summer of thinking on the subject Shizuru still couldn't reconcile what she had done with Natsuki's supposedly immediate unconditional forgiveness. Indeed, Shizuru was still unable to forgive or trust herself. Thus, it was for Natsuki's sake Shizuru kept her distance.

The brunette had indeed kept her distance. Shizuru had been admitted into a prestigious school in Kyoto at which she readily enrolled. She had accepted and spent her first semester at the Kyoto school in an effort to avoid her past. Her actions during the carnival haunted her to this day and despite reassurance that none of her victims at first district remembered what had happened, she was still fearful of their retribution.

Coincidentally the school had an exchange program with a local University in Fuuka that allowed her to take classes there for a term and receive credit at her school in Kyoto. After her first semester in Kyoto she had decided to exercise her option of classes in Fuuka. Shizuru couldn't quite place exactly why she decided to study in Fuuka. She knew she missed Natsuki desperately. However, it was another, unknown pull back to the city where she had previously died that solidified the decision to return.

* * *

Natsuki entered the dingy dive bar at 5:00 a.m. and glanced around looking for her contact. She hadn't been to this bar since the last carnival and wasn't extremely excited to be returning. However, if her ability to materialize her weapons was a sign of what is to come, she would definitely need the help of her contact. Spotting him sitting at the far end of the bar, she quickly approached and slipped into the barstool next to him.

"I was surprised to hear from you. I thought you were enjoying a healthy, normal life nowadays" her contact blandly stated. He didn't even turn to look at the girl.

"I need you to look into something. First District, Searrs, all of them. I need to know if they have reactivated."

"Why would you want to look into those organizations again?" Yamada responded.

"That's my business. I just need to know what their status is."

"Very well. I'll let you know what I find. This will cost you more than the usual price seeing as you're asking for double."

"That's fine. Just let me know what you find out." With that Natsuki rose and left the bar. She made it to her ducati parked outside and drove off. She needed to clear her head and figure out what had happened. Ever since the carnival ended none of the other Hime's had been able to materialize their weapons or call forth their children. What was so unique about last night that Natsuki could suddenly do so again? She needed to check with the others and see if they could as well.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Natsuki found herself sitting on her motorcycle outside of Mai Tokiha's apartment. Despite the slight mist of rain coming down and having sped through traffic to reach her destination, she was hesitant to get off her bike and enter. The thought that the carnival had restarted and that the quiet she had enjoyed this past year was over was understandably upsetting. While she had spent this last year feeling restless and like something was missing, she was now fairly sure that it wasn't being a Hime that she was troubled over. That definitely couldn't have been the reason for her subconscious agitation this past year.

The rain started pouring down on Natsuki, pushing her to actually go through with her reason for this trip. She would talk to Mai. It was approximately 6:00 a.m. now and Natsuki knew that Mai would be up making Mikoto breakfast and getting ready for another school day.

"Mai! Open up!" Natsuki shouted as she banged on Mai's door. After a few more moments of pounding a sleepy eyed Mikoto opened the door in her long nightshirt.

"Natsuki," Mikoto mumbled as she rubbed her tired eyes, "What are you doing here this morning? Mai says we are supposed to pick you up for school." Suddenly Mikoto's eyes lit up as she came to a realization. "Natsuki is picking us up this morning! Do I get to drive the ducati?"

"NO!" Was the raven haired girls immediate reply. She was never letting that middle school girl ride her bike again. _Never, ever again. _Natsuki didn't even consent to the ride the first time around, Mikoto just took off on her ducati and slammed it into a brick wall. Miraculously the Mikoto came out unscathed. The same couldn't be said for Natsuki's ducati.

"Natsuki?" Mai questioned from somewhere inside the apartment. "What's wrong? You're never awake this early."

"I am too!" Natsuki quickly rebuffed. Just as she was about to argue further with the orange haired girl she found her mouth was suddenly stuffed. Looking down she noticed Mai appeared and had placed a mayo bun in her mouth. That's when it dawned on Natsuki how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. The raven haired thus quickly gobbled down the makeshift breakfast and proceeded to get down to business.

"Mai, we need to talk."

"That sentence never means anything good." Mai then saw the glare the biker gave in response to her joke. She decided to play along. "Okay. What would you like to talk about Natsuki?"

"Mai… have you, um," attempting to get information about Mai's status as a hime was a little more difficult for Natsuki to verbalize. After a minute she figured out a strategy. "Have you had any unusual dreams lately?"

"What kind of dreams Natsuki?"

"You know… dreams where… you have your hime powers again?" Natsuki was barely able to stumble through the beginning of that sentence but she did manage to simultaneously mumble and speed through the last part.

Mai's smile quickly turned into a frown. The former fire hime definitely did not like being reminded of those days. The carnival was one of the worst times of her life. A time in which she lost everything that meant anything to her. Having everyone in her life come back was a blessing that she was thankful for every day. Reminders of her loss were not pleasant to say the least. However Natsuki seemed legitimately curious and Mai had caught an undertone of concern in her voice regarding the subject. Mai owed Natsuki an honest answer.

"No." Mai responded. "I don't like to think about what happened during the carnival. I'm just happy it's all over with now. Why?"

"Oh… just wondering. No reason." Natsuki hadn't missed the frown on Mai's face at the mention of the subject. Furthermore she felt isolated thinking that she was the only one whose powers had returned. There was no reason to bring it up just yet if she was the only one who had regained her powers. It would probably be better to bring the subject up again once she had more information from Yamada. With that decision made, Natsuki decided to continue her morning with Mai and Mikoto and deal with the issue of her powers return later.

* * *

After classes had ended for the day Natsuki found herself dragged onto the school lawn to enjoy a picnic with her friends. Mai seemed intent on distracting Natsuki from whatever it was that was bothering the raven haired girl. Chie, Aoi, Yukino, Mikoto and Tate joined them. No one had seen Nao in class that day and so she didn't join them.

"That was delicious Mai!" Chie exclaimed as she finished the last bit of food Mai had provided for the picnic. The rest of the group readily concurred with Chie's statement. Chie then turned her attention to Natsuki. "Now, on to business. As the collector of information on all that goes on in this school, I need to know everything that you discovered yesterday about first year Nina Wang."

"What?" The raven haired girl was offended and annoyed all at once.

"I heard you shared a room with her in the school infirmary after you fainted."

"I did not faint!" Natsuki was confused. How was the whole school was already aware of her accident yesterday? Luckily Chie answered her question.

"Stay focused Natsuki. We've moved on from your incident. That was on yesterdays school gossip update. Nao is a frequent contributor to our website." Chie then pulled up the new school gossip web page, smiling with pride at her new publication. She then displayed Nao's column on Natsuki's fear of needles and fainting spell yesterday. The red head ran into Chie yesterday and had offered to write the story. The school gossip gatherer then proceeded with the business at hand. "Now then, this Nina Wang, give me details."

Natsuki was at a loss as to how to respond to this blatant request for gossip on the new star first years at Fuuka. Luckily, Mai saved her from having to answer.

"They're really nice. Nina is a little quiet, but her friend Erstin is the sweetest girl."

"Hmm… Erstin." Chie promptly started scrolling through her phone for information on the girl. "Erstin Ho. First year. A top student in her class, second only to Nina Wang." She quickly began typing in information regarding her friendship with Nina. _Always best to be up to date_ Chie thought. The conversation continued for a while with Mai and Mikoto filling everyone in on their interaction with the two first years yesterday in the school infirmary.

As Aoi and Chie next began to fill everyone in on the most recent school gossip, Natsuki found her thoughts returning to her dream last night. _More like nightmare. _Despite the shock of recent events Natsuki really hadn't thought about what this dream meant for Shizuru. Immediately upon discovering that she had regained her Hime powers Natsuki had gone straight into action mode. After all she was well practiced at making decisive moves and obtaining information. Thus, after the nightmare she went with her normal reaction and took steps to start solving the problem rather than dwell on what happened.

Now that she had done as much as she felt she possibly could until she heard back from Yamada, Natsuki was only left with the terror she felt. Indeed, Natsuki had panicked in her dream when Shizuru had collapsed on the ground. Then when Shizuru disappeared all she felt was utter devastation. Natsuki wasn't sure why Shizuru had disappeared alongside the scorpion. Given what she knew about a Hime's child and its connection to their masters most important person, it seemed like someone else was connected to Shizuru. _What does this mean? Has Shizuru found a new most important person? Have I?_ _Does having new friends mean that Shizuru is no longer my most important person? _Natsuki wasn't sure. All she knew was that she felt destroyed when the Kyoto woman had vanished in her dream. She needed to see Shizuru and determine where they stood.

That's when Natsuki started to listen in again to her friends conversation. "…it's almost four, how about we go to the Linden Baum to see Akane and Kazuya." Natsuki hadn't quite caught who said it, as her mind was more focused on the timing aspect of her friends comment.

"Oh Shit!" Natsuki suddenly absorbed the time. If she hurried she would indeed be able to see the brunette. It was almost 4 o'clock and today was the day that the raven haired girl met with Shizuru for their monthly catch-up.

"Natsuki?" Mai said as the entire gang gave her a questioning look.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Mai. I just remembered…" Natsuki then saw that Yukino was with them "I… have somewhere I have to be." Natsuki never mentioned Shizuru by name when Yukino or Nao were around. Although she was aware that Haruka and Shizuru had become friends in recent months, she wasn't sure if the friendship and forgiveness Haruka had extended to Shizuru came from Yukino as well.

"Oh okay. Well have a great time Natsuki. We'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning!" With that Mai waved goodbye to the biker and the group split off in two directions. Natsuki headed to her bike to make her way to her meeting and the rest of her friends headed to the Linden Baum to see Akane and Kazuya.

* * *

Natsuki was making her way over to the tea shop where she met Shizuru for their monthly visit. Her thoughts slowly drifted to the person she would be seeing shortly. The Kyoto girl had been her first friend after her mother's death. She had persistently tried to be a part of the raven haired girls life until Natsuki eventually accepted her friendship. After some time had passed, Natsuki slowly began to subconsciously rely on Shizuru's continuing presence and friendship.

After Shizuru's true feelings were revealed during the carnival Natsuki had been shocked. Her rejection of Shizuru thereafter had been a result of her surprise and fear. When she had lost her mother she felt like she had lost the ability to love. She couldn't even bring herself to be close to anyone, let alone have feelings stronger than friendship. The day before she had died, she had realized that she could love people.

Natsuki didn't initially want to get close to Shizuru, but when the carnival was ending she realized that she had loved and valued the brunette all along, or at least as much as she was able to at the time. Shizuru was the first person to accept her and be her friend. The brunette had offered Natsuki unconditional acceptance and love.

The stubborn biker had many friends whom she could rely upon, but first and foremost among them was Shizuru. While she didn't have the same feelings for Shizuru, she realized that Shizuru was truly her most important person. With that knowledge, Natsuki had been able to call forth Duran again. She had been able to stop Shizuru and allow Mai to finish the carnival. It had cost them their lives but had been worth it in the end. Natsuki was at least able to die with her best friend.

Natsuki's reverie was broken as she spotted a slight shifting of light out of the corner of her eye. Looking to her right to get a better view, Natsuki only saw the passing signs and buildings as she sped to her meeting point. She shook off the earlier distraction in her vision as a fluke. _I must be getting jumpy from my powers re-emerging_. The raven haired girl continued on her way.

As Natsuki was driving through downtown she again saw a small movement to her right. This time it appeared to be a greenish tint. _Twice in one drive is too much of a coincidence_. With that in mind, Natsuki took a longer look to her side to determine what was obstructing her vision. This time, to her surprise, she actually saw a small, slightly transparent green blob like creature. It was seemingly following the raven haired girl. It took a moment, but Natsuki recognized the culprit.

"IT'S YOU!" The little green blob gave her a questioning look in response. "YOU DESTROYED MY LINGERIE COLLECTION!" Natsuki angrily clarified to the orphan seemingly traveling next to her. She was oblivious to the passerbys that overheard her revelation of her fetish for collection sexy lingerie. "IT TOOK SIX MONTHS TO GET BACK TO A DECENT SIZED WARDROBE!" With that the young biker became enraged. She veered to her right in the direction of the slightly transparent green blob, intending to knock it into oblivion. It seemed that the more serious fact that an orphan had reappeared went unnoticed to the girl. Her sole thought was on getting revenge against the lingerie offender.

Aware of the peril now in front of it, the small green orphan quickly veered out of the bikers way. It swerved ahead as the raven haired girl chased after it. She was gaining speed with every moment. "Come back here! We're not finished!"

* * *

As the clock in the tea shop chimed to indicate that it was a quarter past four Shizuru quietly sat at her table. She was on her second cup of tea at the establishment and was somewhat perturbed given Natsuki's lateness. _Though_ _I'll probably just forgive her on sight. Natsuki is just so cute that I can't stay mad at her._ It was true that the Kyoto woman harbored a soft spot for the stubborn biker. For some reason that had been the case from the moment she met the girl. Despite several attempts to stop it, Shizuru had quickly fallen in love with her.

Indeed, Shizuru was unaccustomed to having to accommodate others. Since she had entered school at Fuuka she was instantly surrounded by a fan club. Yet the only person who Shizuru had wanted was the one she couldn't have. The one person at that school who didn't want to befriend anyone. The person who seemingly hated everyone. That was the person the brunette worshipped. _And now I have to sit here waiting for her to arrive. Guess I will have to tease her as punishment for her tardiness. _Shizuru smiled at the thought and spent the next few minutes conjuring up various different teases she would inflict upon the raven haired girl.

Her reverie was disturbed by the sound of a motorcycle speeding past the shop and the sight of said bike that was visible out of the corner of her eye. _Natsuki?_ Shizuru next noticed a small object slightly in front of the bike. To the normal eye it appeared somewhat transparent and unnoticeable. For Shizuru, well she could recognize an orphan the moment she saw one. After all, she had been fighting them daily behind the scenes during the previous carnival. _Natsuki!_

With that the Kyoto girl jumped out of her seat, ran out of the tea shop, and chased after her most important person. Stepping onto the outside payment Shizuru ascertained that Natsuki was headed down a street that would inevitably curve back around. If she headed down the corner street she would hopefully be able to intercept the two. With that, the brunette raced down a neighborhood street to, with any luck, run into the biker and orphan.

Shizuru ran down the street. When she arrived at what she believed would be the inevitable intersection, the Kyoto girl impatiently waited. _I shouldn't be standing around like this when Natsuki is in danger! But I don't have another choice. There's no way I'd be able to catch up without a car or motorcycle._ The brunettes fears were assuaged when she caught the distant sight of a motorcycle coming her way. While the orphan was likely too small to see, Shizuru didn't doubt that it was in the vicinity. As Shizuru waited for them to get closer, she mentally prepared herself for the confrontation.

After a few moments the two figures drew closer to the Kyoto girl, with the small orphan slightly ahead of the biker. Just when they were going to be within distance, the small green orphan suddenly halted its apparent escape. It turned on its pursuer and was gaining in size with every minute. That's when Shizuru noticed the dozens of other small green blob like orphans swarming and merging into the one that had been chasing Natsuki. Most of the passerbys had not noticed the orphan due to its slight transparency, but it was readily visible to the former hime.

Natsuki realized that the little green orphan was no longer little a few seconds too late. She was quickly heading straight towards the suddenly large creature with no route of escape in sight. Realizing her dire situation, Natsuki closed her eyes and prepared for impact with the orphan.

"Natsuki!" Everything thereafter all happened in an instant. Shizuru saw the child about to crash into Natsuki's motorcycle and went into a panic. Suddenly her bardiche materialized in her hands and she was acting on pure instinct. Shizuru swung the bardiche, allowing it to segment into its long chain-like form. She then flew it towards the orphan and the chain looped around, snaring the orphan into its vice like grip. The brunette then pulled the bardiche back toward her, bringing the orphan with it.

The green orphan was clearly enraged at having its plan to trap the raven haired hime interfered with. However, it quickly focused its attention on the brunette and broke free of the bardiche chains ensnaring it. The orphans ability to break her elements chain lock shocked Shizuru. The brunette still hadn't quite absorbed the fact that she had materialized her weapon again. She was in reaction mode. As such, she quickly dodged as the now giant green orphan swung its fist at her. However, the brunette wasn't quick enough in her dive for safety and the orphans fist made contact. The brunette was knocked towards a nearly wall.

"DURAN!" Natsuki suddenly shouted, calling forth her child. She had been able to stop her ducati in time to see Shizuru pull the orphan out of her path. Unfortunately she also had to witness the child's attack on an unprepared Shizuru. _But Shizuru's always prepared_. Upon seeing Shizuru being thrown towards a wall across the street Natsuki too was acting on instinct. Her subconscious called forth Duran, with her voice inadvertently following.

Suddenly the wolf appeared out of nowhere and caught Shizuru before she made contact with the hard wall. Natsuki let out a sigh of relief at seeing the brunette was out of immediate harms way. Due to the circumstance, it went unnoticed by the two girls that the wolf was only half of his former enormous size. Acting on autopilot Duran's master next called to Duran, who was gently placing a half conscious Shizuru on the ground.

"Duran! Load Silver Cartridge!" The large silver wolf responded by preparing itself for its attack against the giant green orphan. It quickly loaded its weapon and fired at the green orphan before it could dodge. On impact the green orphan exploded into several small bits. Luckily this time Duran's power was greater and able to destroy the orphan entirely. While the small particles of what remained of the orphan disintegrated, Natsuki was racing towards her fallen friend.

"Shizuru! Are you okay?" When Natsuki reached Shizuru she held her fallen form in her arms and lifted the brunettes head, examining the girl. Natsuki initially didn't receive a reaction. This only managed to increase her worry. "Can you hear me Shizuru?"

"Natsuki?" Shizuru quietly responded. The brunette slowly began to open her eyes and gaze at concerned green ones. She felt exhausted and a little lightheaded from the fight.

"Shizuru! Thank god you're okay." Natsuki said. That's when she noticed that the brunette was taking a little too long to pull herself together. So the biker naturally began to question whether the brunette really was okay. _She did take quite a hit from that orphan._ Real fear took hold of the girl. "You're okay, aren't you Shizuru?"

It took the brunette a moment to respond, but she managed to pull herself together enough to bring out a proper response. "How sweet that Natsuki is so concerned with my health." A slow smile made its way to Shizuru's face as she lightly giggled and looked up at the raven haired girl. It wasn't the normal giggle that Shizuru used when teasing Natsuki, but to hear it reassured Natsuki that her friend would be okay. With that Natsuki gently released Shizuru and allowed the girl to sit up on her own.

That's when the reality of what had just occurred began to sink in. "Oh my god…that was an orphan!" Natsuki mentally relived her experience on her ducati prior to jumping off it. She then began verbalizing her thought process. "And you Shizuru… you… you stopped it from hitting me. Wait… you were able to materialize your weapon… I was able to bring back Duran."

"Ara, Natsuki is so quick to remember what happened just a few moments ago." Despite the seriousness of their situation, Shizuru couldn't help but tease the young girl. The brunette herself still hadn't absorbed everything that had happened. _Did I get my powers back? Did Natsuki?_ _It certainly looked like it. _Then Shizuru remembered being carried by Duran and placed in her current spot on the ground.

Meanwhile Natsuki was still working through what had just occurred. "So now there's orphans popping up out of nowhere and chasing me." Pause. "I have my powers back." Pause. "Duran is back." Pause. "Apparently Shizuru has her powers back."

"It's not polite to talk about people as if they're not here." Shizuru interjected. However there was a smile on her face as she said the words. The brunette didn't want Natsuki to think she was actually offended.

"What? Oh, Shizuru." Natsuki smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I just… it doesn't make sense. Why are these things happening all of sudden? We defeated the obsidian lord. The carnival is over… isn't it?"

"We did." Shizuru nodded, agreeing with the girls synopsis.

"Then why do I have my powers back? Why are yours back? Why is Duran back?" The raven haired girl was understandably confused by the situation.

"I don't know Natsuki."

The young biker agreed. There really was only one question that Shizuru would be able to answer. "How long have you had your powers back?"

"I'm not sure. Everything happened in a flash Natsuki. I reacted and my element appeared." Shizuru then thought more on the subject so that her companion could have a full answer. "I haven't tried to summon my element or Kiyohime since the past carnival." At her own mention of the carnival Shizuru averted her gaze from the raven haired girl. She didn't want to see the hatred and scorn she feared would be in green eyes.

"Same with me." That's when Natsuki's mode to act and move forward kicked in. She hadn't noticed her friends gaze falter. The biker already consumed with making a plan. She wanted to figure out what was going on and try to resolve it. _We can't risk more incidents like this afternoon. _Then the stubborn girl, who previously never would have acknowledged such things, voiced a thought her former self never would have dared to verbalize. "We need help."

* * *

AN:

Just for time frame purposes, this story takes place one year after the carnival. Shizuru is in her second semester of college/university. Natsuki is in her second semester as a second year at Fuuka. Also, unless otherwise noted, time is in the present.


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Natsuki was deep in thought as she headed toward her destination. While she was consciously aware that Shizuru was walking alongside her, the raven haired girl continued on without a word. The two had just barely managed to get away from the site of the orphan attack before the police arrived on the scene. Unfortunately Natsuki hadn't been able to get her bike out in time. _Hopefully they just see it as a normal vehicle parked on the street._ The thought of anyone tampering with her bike would immediately set the biker off.

"Natsuki is so quiet. Other than the obvious, is something the matter?" While the brunette was used to the girls quiet and determined nature, she wanted to make sure that there wasn't more on her friends mind. Shizuru wasn't going to be able to process the events of the past hour until she was sure that her companion was okay. After Natsuki failed to initially respond, Shizuru lightly touched her shoulder to get her attention.

The raven haired girl then registered the contact, stopped walking, and turned towards her companion. That's when she noticed the questioning look on Shizuru's face. "Sorry Shizuru, I was just thinking about things."

"Oh?"

"It's nothing." Natsuki averted her eyes. How was she going to tell Shizuru that while she was supposed to be worried about the re-emergence of their powers, her most recent thoughts had actually been on the safety of her Ducati.

"Really?" Shizuru could easily tell that Natsuki was lying. "Before you stopped your face had the look of a child who was worried that her favorite toy would be lost."

"I was not!" Natsuki protested. However, she saw the skeptical look on her friends face and knew she had been caught. "Fine, I was just concerned my bike might get taken by the police when they surveyed the area."

Shizuru responded with a fake pout that turned into mock offense. "Natsuki cares more about that bike than anything else."

"Do not." Natsuki mumbled then changed the subject. "Come on we have to get to a safe location." With that the biker grabbed her friends hand and continued her strident pace while dragging her counterpart along.

Truth was Natsuki was trying not to think about what had just happened. To go through recent events would force her to face up to the logical ramifications of them. Mainly the raven haired girl didn't want to acknowledge what she knew deep down lay ahead. In her 'action mode' she had only really thought two steps ahead. One, they needed to get to a safe place. Two, once in said safe location they could regroup and figure out their next step. Shizuru seemed willing to comply with whatever Natsuki had in mind as she hadn't questioned where they were going and just followed.

* * *

Mai was prepping her dinner when she heard an excited Mikoto quickly coming towards her. The cat-like girl was waving some sort of object at her but Mai couldn't ascertain what it was due to the fervor of the waving.

"Mikoto?"

"Mai! Your phone has been making funny movements so I brought it to you." The young girl quickly handed the offending object over to her friend.

Mai took the phone and checked it over. She had left it on vibrate so she guessed that was the reason it had been making "funny movements" according to Mikoto. The orange haired girl quickly surveyed the caller ID and answered.

"Natsuki!"

"Mai. Where are you?" Natsuki called over the line. The girl sounded off and slightly apprehensive.

"At home of course."

"Are you alone?"

"No, I'm with Mikoto." Slightly confused by her friend's anxious tone, Mai decided to get more information. "What's going on Natsuki?" While it was rare for Mai to get a social call from the raven haired girl, it was definitely unheard of to hear from the girl twice in one day.

"We need to talk."

This brought a frown to the face of the orange haired girl. "Nothing good ever comes from that line Natsuki."

"Listen, can you just get everyone to meet up tonight?" Natsuki wasn't in the mood to chat with Mai and wanted to start working on figuring out what was going on and who had their powers returned.

"Everyone who Natsuki? What's going on?"

"Look, I'll explain when I see you. I need everyone from the old hime group to get together. Do you know a safe place that we can meet up?"

"Safe? What? Why the old group?"

"I can't answer that right now. I just need you to have everyone meet up tonight at 10."

Mai sighed. Whatever had Natsuki upset had better be good. But if she was going to find out what was going on it seemed like she would have to go along with her friend's plan. "Okay. How about we meet at the Linden Baum. They're closing it early tonight for their remodeling project."

"Sounds good. See you then." With that, the line went dead.

Mai just shook her head in response. Natsuki had never been the most talkative friend, but her lack of courtesy just now made Mai slightly nervous. The urgency of Natsuki's tone and her refusal to talk about something over the phone meant that whatever was going on was serious. The fact that Natsuki requested the presence of all of the former hime was even more troubling. However, there was nothing that Mai could do about it now.

With that, Mai began preparations for tonight. She would have to drop by the Linden Baum to make sure that everything was ready. Akane was closing tonight so it wouldn't be too difficult to get her attendance at the impromptu meeting. Getting access to the Linden Baum wouldn't be difficult either. Mai had recently become Assistant Manager at the diner and would sometimes close shop at the end of an evening shift. A few times she had even held private parties for her friend's birthdays after hours. Initially the parties had happened against Mai's will, as Midori would show up after having had a few drinks and in the mood to party. Eventually it became a custom and as long as they cleaned up before they left the owners didn't seem to mind.

She would have to get a hold of everyone soon if she expected them to make it tonight. Quickly making a mental list of people to contact, Mai picked up her cell phone and dialed the first number.

* * *

The only sound in the Linden Baum after hours was the rapid tapping of anxious fingers on one of the tables. The lights were dim in the popular diner and the mood of the scant occupants matched the atmosphere.

Natsuki had recently arrived and been let in by Mai after closing. She sat at a center booth and would occasionally look around to survey who had arrived. Shizuru sat next to her, quietly sipping tea. The brunette appeared completely poised.

Nao was sitting in another corner with her arms crossed and a displeased look on her face. The red head had received Mai's telephone call earlier that evening but had flatly rejected attending the meeting. She was content with continuing her plans until she was assaulted by Midori in downtown Fuuka. Just minutes ago Nao had been dragged in, kicking and screaming, by Midori. After being thrown into a booth by the older woman Nao had stayed put. However she did manage to get a few glares in at Midori every once in a while.

Midori sat in a bar stool not far away from Nao. She was happily drinking a beer she had managed to snag from the back storage room. To her delight Mai hadn't quite discovered her find. Every so often she would check the status of the red head she had dragged into the Linden Baum to make sure she wasn't going to run out.

Mai was also at the bar, but on the other end. She was busy serving Mikoto a fresh bowl of instant noodles. Mikoto gazed at Mai adoringly before starting on her late night snack.

Akane, Shiho, Yukariko, and Yukino were sitting in their own booth, not far away from Natsuki and Shizuru's. Oddly the four, who formerly barely knew each, had become quite close over the past year at Fuuka. Yukino had recently brought Shiho on to the executive committee at Fuuka to assist as the face of enforcement and discipline for that arm of the student council. Yukariko had become a regular teacher at Fuuka since giving birth to her child and seemed happy with her new position. Akane had also recently become more actively involved at Fuuka, as she and Kazuya were now assistants for the student council. They did essentially the same job that Tate had done the previous year.

Akira silently slipped into the Linden Baum through the dimly lit back room. Her presence would have gone unnoticed but for the fact that Natsuki had been scanning that end of the room at the time Akira appeared. Akira didn't say anything to announce herself but briefly locked eyes with Natsuki before she sat down near Nao. Upon seeing Akira, Natsuki stood and initiated the meeting.

"Okay, I guess we should get started." Natsuki nervously cleared her throat. "Looks like everyone was able to make it tonight." The raven haired girl waited until she got everyone's attention and then continued. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I've brought you here this evening. Well, I've brought everyone here tonight because…" Natsuki paused. _How am I supposed to ask this question. _Shifting slightly from nerves, she quickly glanced at Shizuru. The brunette smiled and gave her a nod of assurance. "Because… Well… I have a question to ask. Has anyone… well… has anyone had anything strange happen to them recently?"

"You called us here to ask if we've had anything _strange_ happen to us lately?" Nao sarcastically remarked from her seat in the back of the room. Natsuki glared at the red head in response. Unfortunately for the biker, the other occupants of the room seemed to share the red head's annoyance.

"Maybe if you could try telling us what specifically you're referring to as _strange _Natsuki." Mai said, attempting to assist her friend.

"Okay. Has anyone… well…" _Best to just get it out_. "Has anyone been able to use their hime powers lately?"

Upon hearing the question Midori inadvertently spit out the beer she had been sipping while the rest of the room sat in shocked silence. The silence was broken by the one party Natsuki wasn't expecting.

"What in the world are you talking about?" Mai angrily stated. "The carnival is over Natsuki, remember? We defeated the Obsidian Lord and lost our powers. It's _over_ Natsuki."

"It's a simple question. Can any of you materialize your weapons? Have you been able to call your child?"

"No." Mai quickly replied. "Of course not Natsuki!" The orange haired girl was visibly upset by the subject and was angry at Natsuki for dragging her here tonight to discuss what she considered the worst time of her life. The carnival had almost destroyed Mai, both spiritually and physically. It was not a topic she wished to revisit. "Why would you even bring this up?"

"Because I can." Natsuki quietly responded while shifting her eyes away from her friends and towards Shizuru. The biker then scanned the occupants of the room to see their reaction.

"Huh?" Mai blurted out. "What do you mean?"

Natsuki sighed and turned to face Mai. _Apparently I'll have to take a more direct approach_. With that thought the raven haired girl opened her palms. There was a quickly flash of light emanating around the girl's hands as two small revolver like objects appeared and were held in the biker's hands. Everyone in the room recognized the weapons, many let out gaps upon recognition.

The room fell silent as the group absorbed this new information. Yukino, Akane and Shiho all had looks of utter terror on their faces at the revelation. Yukariko appeared consumed with worry. In the back, where Nao and Akira were sitting, it was eerily quiet as well. Nao maintained her disinterested expression. Akira wasn't making eye contact. Midori stared, beer in hand, but for once wasn't consuming any of it. Mikoto's head was tilted to the side as she stared at Natsuki's hands. Mai had a blank expression on her face as she processed the information.

Eventually the quiet was broken by Yukino. The new head of the executive committee looked directly at Natsuki and shakily asked the obvious question. "You can materialize your weapons again?"

"Yes," Natsuki replied. There was no point in skirting around the issue now. They needed to find out who else had their powers back. The biker quickly motioned towards Shizuru who took the hint.

"She's not the only one." Shizuru said as she rose and stood beside Natsuki. The brunette quickly materialized her bardiche. After giving the group a chance to observe and take in her element, she moved on to business at hand. "I think that Natsuki asked everyone a question right before she materialized her element. Tell me, do any of you have the ability to materialize your weapons?"

Silence overtook the room again, only to be broken by Akane quickly standing up. The girl was shaking, her head down while tears streaming down her face. "No!" She shook her head. Slowly Akane raised her head, eyes looking accusingly at Natsuki. "NO." Her eyes shifted from Natsuki to the exit then back again. "Not again!"

With that the young girl shoved her chair out of the way and ran out of the diner. To everyone's surprise it was Yukariko who stood, gave Natsuki and apologetic smile, and raced out to find her distressed student.

"Seems like we have a lot to talk about," Midori interposed in the tense atmosphere created by Natsuki's revelation and Akane's flight.

* * *

Tomoe Marguerite briskly left the library just past 10:00 p.m. She had been waiting for _her_ Shizuru for over two hours. The two had agreed to have a study _date_ that evening to work on their group project.

For Tomoe, the class project and study time was all just a pretext so that she could pursue more personal experiences with Shizuru. From the moment she had set eyes upon the brunette on campus she had been enamored. She was determined to win the crimson eyed beauty and have her all to herself. While Tomoe hadn't been able to progress in her relationship with Shizuru yet, she was determined to win over the object of her affection.

When exiting the library, she noticed an agitated brunette lurking on the entrance steps. Upon further examination Tomoe recognized the girl as a member of the University Governing Board. Tomoe herself had tried to gain a position on the board upon entering Fuuka. Unfortunately, due to various conflicts and ill-tempered personalities, Tomoe had failed in her bid. Despite the slip up in her plans with the board, getting on a members good side would always be an added bonus. With that in mind Tomoe decided to engage the girl and tried to recall her name. _Suzuki… no…Suzuro…no…Suzurio…no…Suzushiro! That's it! _ Tomoe walked quickly up to the now fidgeting girl to gain her attention. "Ah. Good Evening Board Member Suzushiro. What brings you here this late at night?"

"Huh?" Haruka turned to face the young girl calling out to her. It didn't take more than a second for her to recognize her former competitor for her position on the Governing Board. "Oh… Marguerite, hello. I'm just waiting for a friend. We were supposed to go over her plans to head up the Executive Committee, but she cancelled at the last minute." Despite the vagueness of her answer it didn't faze the board member that the Marguerite girl had no clue who or what she was talking about. As an important figure at the school she did not feel she had the time explain minute details to random passerbys.

"Oh. I was supposed to be waiting for a friend too. We were going to work on a class project but she didn't show. I'm a little worried." Gauging the blond's reaction, and knowing that Haruka Suzushiro was friends with Shizuru, Tomoe decided to fish for some information. "I think you know her. Shizuru?"

"Bubuzuke?"

Tomoe's face contorted with confusion at the odd nickname the blond used for Shizuru. Not deterred, Tomoe pressed further. "Shizuru?"

"Yes Yes. Bubuzuke." Haruka gauged the younger classman's reaction noting that the turquoise haired girls face would light up at the mention of the Bubuzuke. She took pity on the girl and decided that it was best just to give her the information on Shizuru's whereabouts. Haruka could then send her on her way and proceed with more important endeavors. _Like figuring out where Yukino has gone to._ "Well, if she's not on campus then it's likely that the Bubuzuke is off somewhere with that delinquent."

"Delinquent?" The confusing responses of the governing member were starting to agitate Tomoe. _If she can't give me any useful information then she should just be quiet._ Her irritation was compounded by the accusation that her Shizuru would be off somewhere with a delinquent. Further, Tomoe was not sure why this Suzushiro girl apparently insisted on having non-descript nicknames for all of the people she knew.

Haruka was oblivious to the annoyed state of her current companion and continued with her explanation. "Yes. As I was saying, the Bubuzuke is likely off with the delinquent." The blond was aware of Shizuru's feelings for the raven haired girl, to which she had initially been disgusted. However, after to getting to know Shizuru better and accepting a true friendship with the Kyoto girl Haruka had come to accept that this was just the way Shizuru was. She had thereafter decided to instead wish only the best for her new friend and rival. This had led the governing board member to instead focus on the chosen partner. An analysis of Natsuki, which included her bad temper, motorcycle riding, lack of classroom attendance and failure to participate in school governing affairs had continually turned up a red flag in Haruka's mind to which she labeled "delinquent". Unfortunately there was no way she could make Shizuru realize the error in her choice. "Such a waste of time. Bubuzuke should instead be preparing to run against me for the position of President of the University Affairs Board. Her time would be much better spent if she focused on her academics and extracurricular activities rather than swooning over a motorcycle driving delinquent who doesn't know she exists."

While her comments were made to Tomoe, they came out more as a statement and proclamation to the general public about the errors of her Kyoto friend's ways. Obviously the turquoise haired girl was not pleased with the assertion that _her _Shizuru would be swooning over someone else. There was no chance for Tomoe to object or inquire further though, as their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Haruka's cell phone.

Haruka grabbed her phone from her bag and realized that she had just received a new text message. She opened the message. It was from Yukino.

_Haruka. Sorry couldn't make it. At Linden Baum. Last minute meeting for all hime. Called by Shizuru and Natsuki. _

"They're at the Linden Baum" Haruka mumbled to herself as she read. After the carnival ended Yukino sat down with Haruka and explained that she was one of twelve "hime" and everything that had occurred as a result, including Haruka's own fate. While the experience of disappearing had left Haruka surprisingly undisturbed, Yukino's reaction had been the opposite. The shy young girl was still unwilling to discuss the subject further. Anytime that the older student would ask her friend about it she would be told that she didn't want to discuss it and then politely change the subject. Considering the relative moratorium that had occurred on discussion or reference to that period of time, the blond was bewildered as to why Yukino referred to it as a meeting of the hime. She was even more worried about the fact that Yukino didn't use the past tense in her text when referring to the "hime".

It was thus imperative that the member of the governing board and former head of the executive committee immediately find out what was going on with her friend. With that decision made the blond started her march to the Linden Baum for further investigation, completely forgetting that she had been in the middle of a conversation, albeit an awkward one.

Tomoe stood still as she watched Haruka walk away. The turquoise haired girl had heard the board member mumble a location under her breath. Knowing that this could possibly be the location _her _Shizuru was at, she decided to follow the other girl at a safe distance.

* * *

Back at the Linden Baum the group had managed to suss out that Akira also had her powers back. The ninja had admitted to as much when Natsuki confronted her on her obvious avoidance of eye contact. Akira couldn't bear the thought of the carnival starting all over again and possibly losing Takumi so she had initially kept her revelation to herself, hoping her powers would just go away. Since it appeared she wasn't the only one with the re-emerged ability, it made little sense to hide the fact.

Yukariko had returned to the restaurant a short while ago with Akane in tow. Whatever the former nun had said to the young girl seemed to have an impact as Akane's hysterical tears had dissipated. She had returned to her former seat and sat silently as she listened to the group's conversation.

"To summarize, Akira, Shizuru and myself have all had our powers re-emerge, but no one else. Right?" It had taken a while to calm the group down after the revelation. Shizuru had suggested a quick break so that the information could be absorbed and then they could move forward to deal with the more pressing issue at hand, i.e. the orphan. Everyone took a few minutes to collect themselves in light of the shocking and mostly unwanted news. Midori dealt with the news by drinking another beer. Mikoto sought comfort from Mai. Yukino became silent and dealt with her reaction internally. Everyone essentially dealt with the unsettling information in their own unique way.

Natsuki's question went essentially unanswered. "I'll take that as a yes." There was a pause as the raven haired girl eyed the occupants of the room. Surmising that her assumption was correct, she decided to move on. "We need to figure out why this has happened."

"_We_ don't need to do anything Kuga." Nao said, making her opinion known. "You're in this mess, not us."

"I'm sorry, but wouldn't it make sense that if three of us have already developed our powers that the rest of you might soon as well? If that's the case this is a situation that everyone involved in the events that took place last year should be participating in." Shizuru said as she stood up from her seat, effectively dismissing Nao's comment.

"Fine." Nao mumbled as she shifted her gaze from Natsuki and Shizuru back to the coffee cup on her table.

"Okay," Mai piped in. "So then why do only some of us have our powers?"

"Think about it Mai." Natsuki replied, trying to make sense of the situation. She already had her own theory but wanted to confirm it with the others. "How did each of our powers initially arise?"

"Well mine appeared when I was on that ferry boat with Takumi, Shiho and Tate." Mai responded.

"Was there anything unusual about that event?" Natsuki had never discussed with Mai the emergence of her powers. In fact, none of them had ever really discussed how their powers arose. Given the circumstances everyone had been preoccupied with killing orphans and stopping the carnival from occurring.

"Of course. You might remember that night Natsuki." Considering Natsuki's involvement in the emergence of her powers, Mai gave a little sass with her next comment. "There was an incident where a certain biker and Mikoto got into a fight with their powers and almost destroyed both the ship, Takumi and myself."

Natsuki reddened slightly in response to Mai's obvious insinuation about her actions that night. "So, let's assume that said event triggered your powers. Did anyone else have a fight or traumatic event occur around the time their powers emerged?" Other than Shiho, who had only ever really used her powers subconsciously, everyone present nodded their heads in agreement. "I'll take that as a yes. Let's assume then that traumatic or threatening events cause hime powers to emerge. Did anyone have anything traumatic happen to them yesterday?" The group remained relatively silent while they mentally reviewed their previous day.

"I got into a fight with a particularly off-tone singer at karaoke last night," Midori suggested. She had in fact been intoxicated and significantly over the legal limit at the time. Fortunately for her Youko had picked her up afterwards and driven her home.

"No." Natsuki responded.

"There were a series of rude customers here at the Linden Baum" Akane contributed.

Again Natsuki dismissed the idea with a "No."

"My dessert was ruined and Mai had to make me a new one!" Mikoto piped up. No one was really sure how the loss of a desert would be considered traumatic. However, food seemed to be a life or death issue for Mikoto so everyone let it slide. With that in mind Natsuki completely ignored Mikoto's suggestion.

Seeing that Natsuki was quickly becoming agitated with the speed in which the suggestions were moving from plausible to absurd, Shizuru decided to redirect everyone's attention. She stood, delicately cleared her throat and used her mysterious Kyoto charm to silent the group. "If I may suggest, why don't we focus on whether anyone in the group who has had their powers return have anything particularly traumatic happen to them in the past few days?" Again the question was met with silence by the group. It was Nao who broke the silence.

"I'd say Kuga was the one with the traumatic day yesterday, what with her fainting spell during the vaccination clinic." Nao smirked as she both answered the question and got a little revenge on Natsuki by revealing to the rest of the group about Natsuki's little 'incident' yesterday.

"I did not faint!" The words immediately left Natsuki's mouth.

"Natsuki fainted?" Shizuru quickly questioned. The Kyoto girl turned to the raven haired girl with a worried look on her face. "Is Natsuki okay?"

"Shizuru I'm fine," Natsuki again huffed in response. She then turned to Nao with a scowl on her face. "And for the record I didn't faint, I just had a bad reaction to some vaccination the school made us get."

"Natsuki had a vaccination?" Shizuru's rising panic was calmed by the knowledge that the reason for Natsuki's shot was not a serious matter. Worry abated, the brunette turned her thoughts to likely images of her Natsuki getting her shot, including images of Natsuki being squeamish about the needle. A smile quickly spread across the brunette's face. "So cute!"

Natsuki gave Shizuru a quizzical look in response.

"Either way Kuga, if you're looking for a traumatic event, you seemed to be fairly traumatized by that one in particular." Nao said, trying to refocus the conversation. The red head dreaded the thought of having to listen to the former Kaichou interrogate Natsuki as to her general health and 'cute' habits.

Mai decided it was time to pipe in. "That might be something Natsuki. You were acting a bit off yesterday after your vaccination. Akira, did you get one?"

"Yes, they made our class go first." Akira had in fact felt worse after receiving her shot yesterday. It wasn't until she was sparring later in the day and had been cornered by her opponent that her powers had re-emerged. A protection mechanism of sorts.

"So," Mai started. "Maybe the return of your powers has something to do with the vaccinations yesterday? That's the only thing anyone's mentioned that was really unique about yesterday.

"That would be a plausible theory if not for the fact that Shizuru doesn't go to Fuuka Academy, she goes to the University," Nao dully interjected. She was quickly losing interest in the conversation.

"Fuuka had a vaccination clinic yesterday as well." Shizuru corrected the red head. "The University Affairs Board arranged for it. Haruka insisted that everyone participate in the event, including myself."

Hearing Haruka's name, Yukino quickly made the necessary mental connections. "The executive committee was in charge of Fuuka Academy's vaccinations. We were solicited by a company to distribute the vaccinations. One of the members of their board of directors was a former student at Fuuka. Due to his alumni status he offered to give us a major discount so we went with his company. Haruka told me that he also made the same offer to Fuuka University."

"So the clinics were set up by the same company. There might be a connection. But then why are only some of us manifesting our powers and the rest are not?" Natsuki pondered as she posed the question to the group. She raised her head and noticed that everyone else was either also contemplating the subject or, in Nao's case, staring disinterestedly at their cup of coffee. After a moment, Mai answered her general query.

"Not all of us have had any type of trauma or confrontations since yesterday."

"But…" Natsuki's sentence was cut off by the sudden shaking of the room. Simultaneously she heard a loud rumble. The raven haired girl looked around, quickly surveying the situation. It felt like an earthquake but the movement was clearly only occurring at the Linden Baum as the building outside appeared fine. The noise was definitely coming from outside but sounded more like it was coming from the roof than the street. There was a sharp cracking noise and Natsuki looked above her to see that the ceiling was starting to splinter and break apart. Concerned, Natsuki turned to Shizuru at her side.

Shizuru had been looking at the ceiling when it became evident that whatever was happening would cause the roof to cave in. In a matter of seconds the splintering turned into breaking and parts of the roof started hailing down on the occupants of the room. One piece in particular was headed straight for the raven haired girl at her side. Without even having to think the brunette lunged for Natsuki, knocking her down onto the floor and covering the biker with her body.

As the two were on the ground awaiting the impact they slowly began to realize that said impact it was in fact overdue. Instead of a large chunk of the ceiling squashing them there had only been a lot of dust and a bunch of pebble-sized pieces of wood and plaster. Looking up the two saw a series of thin red wires extending across the room. Tracing the wires to their origin the two noticed through the dust a bright light coming from the section of the room where Nao and Akira had been.

As the dust cleared Nao looked down at her hands which had morphed into two twin metal claws. Her element had obviously returned to save the day. _Not good. _Unfortunately the red head's remorse was interrupted by an orphan screeching overhead. The same orphan that had apparently attacked the Linden Baum. It was making its presence known by attempting to squash the group with its massive limbs. "Fuck."

* * *

John Smith, the new head of Searrs Foundation waited quietly at his desk. It was past 1:00 a.m. in Tokyo and he was expecting a call from his contact in Fuuka. Earlier that morning he has issued an order for the Fuuka Searrs agents to release the first and second tests on the hime in hopes that they would trigger the resurgence of their powers. He had carefully chosen both test subjects and was awaiting the results.

A sudden vibration from his phone took hold of Smith's attention. He withdrew the device and noticed that he had received a message. It was from his Fuuka contact. Smith carefully read it.

"_Released the tests. Results confirmed. Better than expected. Filing report immediately."_

Smith smiled as the message seemed to confirm his plan had not only worked, but had gone exceptionally well. He was anxious to see the report but knew that it likely wouldn't be on the Searrs file database until the early hours of the morning. While his next attack on the hime was ready for execution, Smith had decided to wait. The next incident would be best accomplished with a full analysis of the first two. However, with any luck, he wouldn't have to wait long.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the delay in updating. Sometimes life and work just gets in the way. I don't intend on going this long without an update again. Reviews welcome!


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

The streets were quiet as young Haruka Suzushiro briskly marched towards her destination across town. The Linden Baum was a quaint diner known to be frequented by the students at Fuuka Academy. During Haruka's days at the Academy she had been unable to attend events held at the restaurant as her responsibilities on the Executive Committee consumed most of her time. This didn't bother her as the thought of spending her afternoons at the small diner was too _laissez-faire _for the Governing Board Member. For Haruka, it was important for a student to be involved in both their education and their educational environment. Personal accomplishment could only be achieved by efficiently running the school and effectively reforming the various delinquents that abounded it.

After rounding the corner to the street the Linden Baum was located on the blond stopped in shock. First, Haruka shook her head and tried to take in the scene in front of her. Not believing that she was seeing things correctly, she then blinked rapidly a few times to see if anything would change. Neither of these actions did the trick and Haruka's eyes finally bulged in recognition of the large monster sitting on what remained of the collapsed roof of the Linden Baum. Filled with the same burning desire that used to overtake her when she was punishing the delinquents at Fuuka Academy, Haruka marched toward the giant creature intent on halting its destructive practices.

All the while the headstrong blond was oblivious to the junior classman following her, who had also seen the giant creature.

* * *

Red wires were strewn across what remained of the Linden Baum, covering the room and its occupants like a blanket. While everyone (outside of the orphan) was glad for the life-saving aspect of it, they did wish to remove themselves from the area as the orphan was preparing for a second attack. Unfortunately it looked like Nao wasn't going to retract said wires anytime soon.

Nao for her part was still staring at the twin metal claws on her hands. Mental denial of her powers return didn't seem to be working so her conscious mind was slowly accepting that she was indeed going to be in the same boat as Natsuki, Shizuru and Akira. _So unfair._ Fortunately for the rest of the group, the red heads attention was again brought back to the present crisis. Mainly, that the ceiling of the Linden Baum had collapsed and the large orphan was attempting to squash members of the group with its massive limbs. Nao looked up to survey which of the himes the orphan had targeted. The creature was currently following Shiho with one of its giant limbs, trying to cut the young student in half. _Scratch that, not limbs, claws. GIANT claws. _They were indeed giant claws as the orphan appeared to be a cross between a giant blowfish and a crab. Spikes covered the outside of the creature's massively inflated body but instead of arms the orphan had enormous orange claws that were currently snipping at its target.

The phrase "ON" could be heard through the slowly dissipating fog of dust. Akira, who had been most protected due to her close proximity to Nao, had materialized her weapon. Since the remaining active himes were either paralyzed with shock or stuck under the wires of Nao's element, it was up to her to stall the orphan. With her double bladed kunai in hand Akira stealthily approached the offending orphan.

"Get it together Nao," the red head encouraged herself. "You might be in the same situation as the cross-dresser, the lunatic and Kuga…" _but it doesn't mean they're you're responsibility._ With that assurance in mind Nao slashed at the red wires spread throughout the building. Once they were disposed of Nao dove behind one of the booths in her corner and watched the fight unfold from a safe distance.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the room, Akira had been unable to take the time necessary to evaluate the orphan's weaknesses. Instead she had been forced to jump onto its right claw in order to distract it from snapping Shiho in half. The young student had been backed into a corner and if not for Akira's intervention would surely have no longer been among the living. Taking the opportunity to escape, Shiho dove for safety behind an overturned table.

In a nearby corner lay Yukariko, Akane and Yukino. The three appeared to be watching Akira fight the orphan behind their own booth. Fear was written across Yukariko and Akane's faces. Yukino on the other hand seemed to be looking past the crab-like orphan. The shy girl had a look that appeared to be a cross between curiosity, shock and fear.

"Halt right there!" A booming voice could be heard from outside the diner.

"Haruka!" Yukino piped up in response. Worry laced the young student's voice. "It's an orphan. Run!"

Turning to her closest friend, Haruka smiled. "Fear not Yukino, I will stop this troublemaker." The blond then turned her attention back to the orphan, addressing it. "You are a miscreant on this humble restaurant and the good students of Fuuka Academy. Thus, I will punish you for your misdeeds and destruction of private property!" With that the blonde began sprinting towards the monster. During her sprint, the occupants of the Linden Baum noticed two things. First, that Haruka was able to properly pronounce a complex word. Second, a labrys suddenly appeared in the former head of the executive committees hand as she ran towards her target.

"HEY THAT'S MY ELEMENT" Midori shouted, rising from her hiding spot behind the counter. The crab-like orphan turned and swung its left claw in her direction. Midori retreated back behind the counter.

The former head of the executive committee quickly reached the orphan and swung at it with her newly acquired labrys. Unfortunately, the orphans hard outer shell, presumably a result of its crab-like qualities, provided the perfect shield against the sharp ends of the labrys. Pulling the weapon back Haruka was annoyed to discover that her attack inflicted relatively no damage on the creature.

Fortunately, Haruka had provided enough of a distraction for Akira to summon her child Gennai. The large frog emerged from behind a nearby building and was readying the large spotlights on its back to blind the orphan.

"Haruka" Akira called from her position atop Gennai. "Try and call Gakutenoi."

"Huh? Gakutenoi?" Haruka responded, curious as to what kind of person or creature a Gakutenoi was and how she was capable of summoning it. Suddenly a creature the size of a lion but that shared the attributes of an armadillo rounded the corner and sat itself down next to Haruka.

"WHAT?" An upset Midori howled from behind her hiding spot.

Akira used the distraction to have Gennai shine the spotlights on its back at the orphan, effectively blinding it for the time being.

Unsure of what kind of powers this Gakutenoi possessed, but wanting to help, Haruka decided to encourage the creature to take whatever action it deemed best. "Go get 'em!" With that Gakutenoi extended the large blade on its head and began hacking at the shell of the orphan. With every hit by the child, a crack appeared in the crab-like orphan.

Meanwhile, Akira had positioned Gennai for a new attack on the creature. Akira shouted "Jigoku Gama" and the child launched a huge ball out of its mouth straight towards the orphan. Unable to see the attack coming the crab-like orphan failed to block the large spike ball. Upon impact there was a flash of light and after the dust settled the onlookers were able to ascertain that the orphan's shell had been cracked and as a result when Gennai's spike ridden ball had made impact it had squashed what remained of the orphan.

* * *

The occupants of the Linden Baum began to emerge from their hiding spots upon seeing the orphan's destruction. They were greeted with the image of one Haruka Suzushiro petting her half-armadillo, half-lion child.

"Gak-ute-noi. Hmm. Ga-ku-ten-oi?" Haruka said as she tried various pronunciations of her child's name. "Gaku-tenoi."

"What are you doing Suzushiro?" Midori angrily queried as she rose from behind the counter. The red head was clearly offended that Gakutenoi was no longer her child.

"Learning how to pronounce this guy's name." Haruka responded, oblivious to the fact that her new child happened to be Midori's former. "Though I'm thinking about just naming him 'The Enforcer'. He'd be a great asset to the University's disciplinary board."

"I need a drink." Midori frowned then leaned over the bar and retrieved her beer. She downed the drink and sat down on the bar stool to her right.

"Haruka!" Yukino, having absorbed the situation, raced over to her best friend to ensure that she was indeed alright. "Are you alright?"

"Of course Yukino."

Midori sat glowering at the two. Her attention then shifted to the red head in the corner.

"Looks like someone took your powers." Nao sneered. "Guess someone's too old to be a hime."

"What? I'm only 17!" Midori cried in response.

"By the way, you're welcome for saving all of you guys back there." Nao declared to the group. "Speaking of saving everyone," Nao turned to Natsuki, "where were you and the kaichou when the fight was going on?"

"What? Umm…" Natsuki looked at Shizuru and then down at her feet. The raven haired girl mentally searched for an appropriate response and when she thought one up she immediately raised her head and glared at Nao. "We were stuck under the debris!"

"Uh huh. Sure Kuga."

"We were!"

Uninterested in her companions conversation, Haruka continued with her assessment of Gakutenoi. Addressing the child, Haruka asked "What other tricks do you have up your sleeve. You'd be a great asset to the disciplinary committee at Fuuka University." In response Gakutenoi gave his master a quizzical look. "Alright, if academia isn't your forte… have you considered a career in law enforcement?"

"Haruka," Yukino intervened "Gauktenoi is your child. You can't go around using Gakutenoi to enforce University discipline."

"But Yukino!" Haruka whined in an uncharacteristic manner.

"Alright everyone," Mai interceded, her assertive voice breaking up the different groups conversations. She waited until all of the rooms occupants attention was directed towards her, then continued. "Despite the fact that no one, other than maybe Haruka, wants to deal with this, it appears that we don't really have a choice. There's something going on and it obviously won't let us ignore it."

"Says who?" Nao challenged.

"Says those red gloves on your hands," Natsuki interrupted, pointing to Nao's element which she still wore on each of her hands.

"Fine." Nao said, glaring. "What should we do? Because I'm definitely not going to go through another one of those carnivals." Nao, remembering the pain from her lost eye, tried to quell her rising anger.

Slightly intoxicated by this point, Midori smiled as she rose from what remained of her shattered bar stool. The older girl figured that some brevity would help the situation and get everyone to the main point of all of this. "This means we should re-form the hime rangers!"

Every person in the room, sans Midori, groaned.

* * *

Natsuki closed the door to her dark apartment and retreated to the comfort of her couch. It had been a stressful day for the biker. However, what was truly bothering the raven haired girl wasn't the fact that peoples hime powers had started re-emerging. She wasn't even bothered by non-former himes developing hime powers. Rather, it was her own reaction to the attack at the Linden Baum today that was truly pressing on the young girl.

Natsuki thought back on the paralysis that had overtaken her.

"_Shizuru" Natsuki whispered, feeling the weight of the brunette above. _

_In her peripheral vision Natsuki was able to see an intricate web of red that was slicing the chunks of plaster and wood into tiny pieces as they fell onto the web. All that remained afterwards were small fragments of the former ceiling falling thru the cracks. Rather than focus on the debris falling around her, Natsuki continued staring into the eyes of the brunette on top of her. _

"_Natsuki." Shizuru's voice was laced with concern as she looked down. Her eyes scanned the face below, looking for assurance that the biker was indeed okay. _

_Moments turned into minutes as the two continued to silently gaze at each other. Not even the collapse of the red web around them or the presence of the orphan halted their apparent trance. Natsuki's thoughts had drifted to her dream from the other night in which she had lost Shizuru to an orphan attack. The Kyoto girl, who had always held a special place in her life, had vanished in front of her. Now, this same person had risked themselves to save Natsuki from another orphan attack. All Natsuki could think about was how she had let Shizuru slip from her life and that while she was laying here with the Kyoto girl the emptiness that she had felt since she had started her normal life was starting to fade. _

_Shizuru, for her part, seemed to be in just as deep thought as her companion. Natsuki brought her hand up to touch her friends face, assuring herself that the brunette was actually there and had not vanished from her life. Her thumb began to stroke her cheek._

"_Shizuru, I…"_

_Their reverie was broken by the sound of Haruka Suzushiro._

_The sound of Haruka's horrible pronunciation of her child's name was like a blaring alarm clock alerting the biker to her presence in the room and her compromising position. She abruptly pushed Shizuru off of her, stood up, and attempted take stock of her surroundings. No one appeared to have noticed them as everyone was focused on the former head of the executive committee and her new powers. _

Thinking back on what happened, she knew that while barely anything was said, Natsuki still hadn't been able to focus on anything other than Shizuru. Her brain hadn't acknowledged the orphan attack, something that it definitely should have. _Normally I would have reacted._ Natsuki prided herself on her survivor instincts and ability to think quickly in dangerous situations. Whatever was happening between Shizuru and herself had to be sorted.

* * *

_The Next Day_

The raven haired girl parked her motorcycle outside the mansion which housed Fuuka Academy's headmaster Fumi's office. A brunette girl with crimson eyes stood waiting outside the entrance.

"I called ahead to book an appointment with the headmistress but was unable to arrange anything as her secretary did not answer my call." They had agreed that Shizuru would arrange for the meeting with Fumi under the pretext that she wanted to discuss how the school was fairing with the new kaichou.

"That's suspicious." The raven haired girl didn't trust Fumi as she had been working for Mashiro and thus was, in Natsuki's mind, an agent of the First District. Nevertheless, everyone had agreed that determining First District's involvement in recent developments was paramount. "Lets just go in then."

"Ara, what terrible manners Natsuki has to enter another's office without an appointment," Shizuru teased.

"I didn't even want to make an appointment with these people." With that, Natsuki went forward with her original plan and stormed into the mansion. She headed straight towards the headmistresses office. Shizuru followed closely behind. When they reached the desk of Fumi's secretary they found that it was in fact empty. "She's gone."

"I guess that explains why she did not answer my call." Shizuru began casually scanning the contents of the secretary's desk. It was evident from the dust on the tabletop that no one had worked at the desk in quite some time. Meanwhile Natsuki proceeded towards the door to Fumi's office to find that it was unlocked. "Is Natsuki going to enter the headmistresses office? My Natsuki is a naughty student. If I was still Kaichou I would be forced to punish Natsuki."

The raven haired girl ignored the taunts of her companion. "I'm just checking to see if we can get inside. Maybe Fumi knows something." With that the biker opened the door to reveal a ransacked office. The desk had been trashed, the contents of which were strewn across the floor. Fumi's filing cabinets had clearly been exhumed. Chairs were toppled over and ripped apart. "Look! Someone's gone through Fumi's office and trashed it."

Shizuru walked through the doorway and surveyed the area. "Yes, it appears so." With that the brunette proceeded to the headmistresses desk and began looking through the files therein. Taking the hint, Natsuki followed suit. The two spent a half hour going through the remaining contents of the office trying to find some clue as to either what happened to Fumi or why their powers had re-emerged. They didn't uncover any valuable information as it appeared that whoever had beaten them to the office had taken all of the headmistresses confidential files. However, they were able to extract the hard drive from Fumi's computer, hoping that Yukino would find something of value inside.

When the two exited the building, rather than head towards Natsuki's motorcycle parked in the driveway, Natsuki veered off course. Her brunette companion followed silently behind and soon discovered that they were headed towards the campus gardens where they had first met. When they arrived the two just stood there for a few minutes until Natsuki broke the silence. Natsuki turned to face Shizuru, a serious expression on her face.

"Shizuru, there's something I want to discuss."

"What's that Natsuki?" The Kyoto woman gave a reassuring smile to her companion.

"I need ask you something."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Something has been bothering me ever since yesterday. Given all the attacks I haven't been able to discuss or even absorb it. And I know that we haven't spent a lot of time together lately, really only seeing each other once a month… " Natsuki, starting to ramble, realized she needed to get herself back on track. The reclusive biker didn't often share her innermost thoughts and fears with those around. Now if it came to a strategy to defeat a foe, well then she was more than happy to enlighten her cohorts. But, Natsuki rationalized, if she had learned anything from the previous carnival, she should be honest with those closest to her, lest the same mistakes be made again. _This is too important to ignore._ A quick flash of Shizuru disappearing into green mist in Natsuki's dream played out in her mind. Natsuki balled her hands into fists and pushed forward. "Anyways, Shizuru, what's going on with us?"

Unused to Natsuki ever being this serious when it came to Shizuru and herself, or ever even bringing the subject up, the brunette was momentarily at a loss for words. She quickly collected herself and answered. "What does Natsuki mean?"

"I mean, well, I had this dream the night my powers re-appeared. And in the dream, well, you were there. I was there. And we were in a battle…" At this point Natsuki had shifted her eyes to the nearby flowers in the garden, not making eye contact with her friend while she tried to put together what exactly it was that she was saying. Natsuki hadn't really intended to bring the dream up. Her mentioning it to Shizuru was a spur of the moment decision. _Just tell her!_ "Okay. In the battle there was this large scorpion. As far as I can remember it was someone's child." Natsuki brought her eyes to meet Shizurus. "We defeated it, but then you disappeared. Whoever's child it was, well, I think you were their most important person."

"Oh." Shizuru was unsure why she would be anyone's most important person, let alone someone other than Natsuki's. However, she did not want her dear Natsuki to worry about such things and decided teasing would help lighten the mood. "Is Natsuki concerned that someone has replaced her? Natsuki is so sweet!"

"Shizuru! I'm being serious. I'm not one to believe in prophetic dreams, but with everything that has been going on I needed to make sure that we were still fine. That our friendship is okay."

"Of course it is." Shizuru was growing concerned over Natsuki's worry. The brunette knew that she had limited her interactions with the biker, but had only done so for her friend's own good. Shizuru still struggled daily with what happened during the carnival. Both what she had done and what had been revealed. Natsuki knew of Shizuru's crimes as well as her true feelings for the biker. Natsuki had nevertheless willingly embraced their friendship in the end. It was Shizuru who had not yet been able to move on.

"So then, do you… have you… become close to anyone since the carnival?" Natsuki recalled the excruciating pain she felt in her chest when her friend disappeared right in front of her during the dream. She didn't want to have to experience that in real life. At that moment she was positive that, despite the distance, Shizuru was still her most important person, her key. "I… I couldn't take it if anything happened to you." Shizuru stood still, absorbing Natsuki's words. "Shizuru, you're still my best friend."

"Natsuki," Shizuru paused, touched by the raven haired girls words. "You have always been my most important person. That has not changed."

"Good. I just needed to know where we stood. That we are still friends." It was a constant internal struggle for her to overcome her tendency to hide her feelings behind a gruff exterior. She again flashed to her dream and Shizuru dying in her arms. She whispered out her next words. "And that you won't leave." Natsuki then threw up her mask of indifference in an effort to control her emotions and the words that had started tumbling out of her mouth. While she was better able to acknowledge her feelings after the carnival, the biker was still not 100% comfortable with expressing said feelings. "Now lets go drop this hard drive off with Yukino."

* * *

AN:

Admittedly in the last Chapter I twisted Nao's element's capability. My excuse is that it fit with the story better. As to how I ended the last chapter… I couldn't really think up a better ending and was pressed for time. I feel that Nao is the type of character that will occasionally use cuss words. It fit in my mind. I'll probably go back and edit it sometime in the future. Time to press onward.

Hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far!


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